I'm a bit of a food snob. I do nearly all my shopping at Wegmans, where I can get fancy vegan meat alternatives, organic store brand food at a fraction of the price & vegan snacks not found in most grocery stores.

I'm really working on eating more whole foods and making a vegan lifestyle more obtainable for other families. I know a lot of people don't live near Wegmans, Whole Foods & Trader Joe's, so I want to focus more on every day ingredients in future recipes.I want to show that vegan family meals can be accessible, delicious and affordable.

In the most simplest terms, vegan meals are truly just vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes, nuts & seeds. All of those items can be found in the most basic grocery store.

I'm having second thoughts about whether or no the Schmidt bread is vegan. The ingredients looked ok but potato bread typically isn't vegan, so....

I did some light shopping at Food Lion last week to check out their options. I was surprised at how many plant-based items they have outside of the produce department. I was disappointed they didn't have tempeh or vegetable broth (can you believe no vegetable broth?) but I did see tofu, Tofurky vegan sausage (I don't usually buy this brand), and pre-packaged vegan entrees. I spent $28 on all the items above.

I'm not aiming for perfection but I know eating more whole foods will save us money and encourage more families to experiment with vegan meals.